THAT was one of the best FA Cup finals I can remember for some time, and Cardiff City made me feel proud to be Welsh.

That they reached the final was a tremendous achievement, but they more than held their own.

The worst part is that until the goal, City were the better team.

Anybody who didn’t know any better would have been wondering who the Premier League side were.

Kanu did nothing, apart from miss a sitter and score a goal from a mistake.

But that’s why Portsmouth finished eighth in the league – they are clinical and ruthless when it counts.

One great cross, one error, and that’s it.

City had their chances in the first half and, quite simply, if Kanu was in a black shirt, they would have been 2-0 up at half-time.

Pompey didn’t look that impressive, but City didn’t take advantage when they had the upper hand.

Paul Parry should maybe have shot when through instead of crossing for Kevin McNaughton but he, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Joe Ledley, Roger Johnson and Glenn Loovens were outstanding.

But there was always the feeling that if they didn’t make the most of their chances, Pompey would punish them.

I know it’s easy to say watching the game, but I just don’t know what City keeper Peter Enckelman was thinking.

He shouldn’t have tried to catch that ball that led to the goal – he’d punched other, easier balls clear, so why then?

Maybe it was nerves, who knows? He didn’t look at ease in the early stages of the semi-final against Barnsley, so maybe he doesn’t adapt well to the big games.

It’s such a shame because he’s done so well this season since joining on loan from Blackburn Rovers. People were suggesting Aaron Ramsey should have started, but I think Dave Jones got selections spot on.

The way they played justified his decisions, and at the end of the day, that wasn’t a bad bench to have.

There was a lot of experience on there, plus Ramsey.

And the way the starting XI set about their task and took the game to Portsmouth was a credit to Dave Jones.

In fact, the team were a reflection of the manager – they played the game the right way because Dave is a proper football fella.

For the first half hour, they were the better team.

It wasn’t just an ordinary Championship game, but what pleased me was that they didn’t look overawed by the occasion.

Again, that’s credit to Dave Jones.

I was glad he brought him on on the hour to give him a decent chance to influence the game.

Second half, City just simply ran out of gas.

They just didn’t have the quality when it mattered. They huffed and puffed, but David James didn’t have a save to make.

Portsmouth sat back and looked comfortable doing so.

But, hey! Who would have thought Cardiff would have ever been here, and even a few weeks ago, who would have thought it would ever have been this close?

It’s such a shame to lose to such a soft goal, but there are plenty of positives they can take from this.

Ledley and Ramsey have added even more to their value, and the team as a whole played really, really well on the day.

People across the world will look at Cardiff and think, ‘they’re a decent side’.

What they’ve got to do now is tap into the fanbase that has been to support them twice at Wembley.

If those people turned up week in, week out at Ninian Park, imagine the buying power they would have.